In a world first, the team at the Great Barrier Reef has been able to cryogenically freeze and store coral, with a new lightweight "cryomesh" that is cheaper and more efficient than current methods, Reuters has reported.
In a December lab trial, scientists used the cryomesh to freeze coral larvae at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). The coral had been collected from the reef for the trial, which coincided with the brief annual spawning window.
"If we can secure the biodiversity of coral … then we'll have tools for the future to really help restore the reefs, and this technology for coral reefs in the future is a real game-changer," Mary Hagedorn, a senior research scientist at Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, told Reuters.
Senior research scientist at Smithsonian...